Den kommunikerende fodboldklub

Studenteropgave: Kandidatspeciale og HD afgangsprojekt

  • Thomas Mark
4. semester, Kommunikation, Kandidat (Kandidatuddannelse)
The communicative order of football is under pressure. Due to social media the power of institutions, i.e. football clubs and the press must be rethought as mass communication providers. With the use of social media everyone has the opportunity to express themselves and tell stories through the mass communication media - good as well as bad. The image of a new communicative reality may seem daunting - a common view among football clubs. They express great concerns about "letting go of communications restrictions" as they try to tie the bad history to death. The distinction between the telling of the good experience and the new media is in reality not an either-or issue. My contention is that the clubs could drop the rigorous control of communications. On the contrary they can invite consumers of football “inside” to be active participants in the discussions about the clubs prehistorically and future actions and thus end up having a success story to tell. The thesis will show how the use of social media can enhance the football club brand through perspective of the experience economy. As a football club can learn from listening to consumers' understanding of the football club and as such understand the expressed identity a certain club want to give to consumers of football. The clubs are doing so already, when they use brands vocabulary trying to sell them as something special. It may end up being a really good business deal for the clubs. Social media can activate positive experiences to the consumers of football and as such enhance the overall value of the brand. In order to show that you as a club is listening, you acknowledge the existence of the consumer of football. When consumers interact with the football club they constitute themselves as fans - and social media as a technology can serve as a catalyst for interaction. Therefore, the clubs should work to strengthen interaction possibilities and the relationship between club and consumers of football and between consumers themselves. The potential interaction between consumers of football themselves is essential when social media is used as an intermediary of experience. Social media has the ability to reach many people enabling them to read about, agree or disagree with what other consumers of football are saying. Figuratively speaking, they are all standing outside the club, discussing the club, knocking on its door and trying to get in and tell the club, what they think. But if the clubs doesn’t invite them in and doesn’t listen to them they will probably feel unwanted and not welcome. On the contrary, if the clubs will let them in, listen to them and show interest, there is a potential chance that the consumers of football will use their voice through, among other; social media to tell positive stories about the club does something good. There is so much more credibility to retrieve by allowing others to say something positive about you, rather than its necessary you’ll have to do it yourself.
SprogDansk
Udgivelsesdato2009
Udgivende institutionAalborg Universitet
ID: 17989226